Newtown Report Yields No Apparent Motive Behind Sandy Hook Massacre

The Newtown report released Monday yields no apparent motive behind the Sandy Hook massacre. According to the Division of Criminal Justice in the State of Connecticut, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who shot and killed 20 schoolchildren and six adults Dec. 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, before killing himself, apparently did not have a motive for the shooting rampage.

Even with the release of this 48-page investigative report, the second deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history still cannot be fully explained. With Lanza dead, there can be no definitive answers to the question of why he entered an elementary school and opened fire, killing 20 innocent young children and six adults. The investigative report will not give solace to the families permanently affected by this senseless tragedy.

Though the Newtown report yields no apparent motive behind the Sandy Hook massacre, it reveals even fewer clues about Lanza’s state of mind. Lanza had a number of violent video games at his home, where he lived with his mother, Nancy, who he shot and killed in her bed prior to driving to Sandy Hook. Lanza also appeared to have a preoccupation with mass shootings at schools, as there were newspaper clippings about such shootings, including Columbine, at his home.

Lanza reportedly had mental illness for which he did not seek treatment. Aside from newspaper clippings of mass shooting, there were several guns in the home as well. Interviews with psychologists did not yield any information regarding the potential of Lanza committing future mass murder.

Lanza used a Bushmaster rifle during the Sandy Hook shooting, a weapon typically used, according to the manufacturer, by police, law enforcement agencies and the military. Lanza turned a Glock on himself shortly before police arrived in response to 911 calls. He used a .22 caliber rifle to shoot his mother. Lanza had five weapons with him, all of which had been bought legally by his mother. It took the police six minutes to arrive at Sandy Hook from the time they received the first 911 call.

Lanza fired 154 shots within five minutes. Each child was shot many times. He then turned a single shot on himself with a Glock, effectively killing himself. He was in one of the classrooms when he shot himself.

There is no evidence that Adam Lanza had any assistance with the massacre or killing his mother. He is believed to have acted alone.

This report comes while the release of the 911 transcript calls is being bandied about in court, and soon before the one-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre. The release of the report reopens deep wounds for the families who are trying to move on.

Says Newtown’s First Selectman Pat Llodra, “Each of these happenings has the potential to feel like a body blow — it takes our breath away and we struggle to regain our balance.”

The delay in the state investigative report can be blamed on pressure from the authorities. Though the Newtown report yields no apparent motive behind the Sandy Hook massacre, this report is only a small look into the entire investigation, and does not include any photos, the victims’ names or witness statements from children.